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Something is missing from the Miami Heat’s record-chasing winning streak, something that many athletes will tell you is so vital that they can’t possibly continue this successful run without it:

Superstitions.

Sports are rife with superstitions, never more so than when a player or a team is enjoying and committed to repeating some particular success. Remember Wade Boggs, the five-time American League batting champion in the 1980s and eventual Hall of Fame third baseman? For all his hand-eye coordination and other training methods, Boggs probably would tell you his career had as much to do with the chicken dinners he ate every day, the batting practice he had to take at precisely 5:17 p.m. or the infield practice in which he would take exactly 150 ground balls, no more, no less.

Hall of Fame hockey goalie Glenn Hall used to, er, lose his lunch before every game, with teammates worrying whenever he wasn’t worrying himself sick. Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, during his club’s winning streak a couple years ago, announced to the world that he would neither change nor wash his underwear.

With proven results such as that, the Heat – in running their streak to 24 consecutive victories, nine shy of the NBA record set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers – surely must have some oddities, habits or rituatls in play?

As forward Shane Battier said late Wednesday night in Cleveland, “Athletes are all superstitious and even if they don’t admit it, there’s a routine and just a cadence to our days. Especially when things go well, you can see us try to replicate it.”

Exactly. Just what we suspected. And yours are …

“Nope,” Battier said. “Well, I try to drink the same beer – Bud Light – but that’s about it. You never know. I don’t want to chance luck and switch up brands, so I’m staying loyal to Bud Light.”

Like Battier, Heat guard Dwyane Wade claimed not to have any habits that would blur the lines between routine and obsessive-compulsive behavior.

“Nothing that’s like, ‘Aww, I have to do this every time,’ ” Wade said. “Maybe you do something two days, three days, two games. But for the whole twenty-however-many-games we’ve won? Nah. To me, every day is different. My body feels different certain days.”

The Heat started their streak back on Feb. 3. So if anyone in their traveling party had decided to follow Leyland’s lead on underwear or socks, Wade and Battier feel they would have sniffed it out by now.

37 Comments

I think in this case it’s a frame of mind rather than a lack of anything. Sometimes reading into a situation that doesn’t exist becomes an issue because it draws from what’s important. The idea of a superstition not in place makes no sense! And it’s not something they should worry about either.

What is there to be impressed about??? It takes five guys to win… Miami found three who couldn’t get a championship on their own teams, and convinced them to desert the teams that drafted them, to go there where combined, they could win. Then they found some more championship starved players to go along. If they DON’T break the record, it will be a bigger surprise… and a failure! If they do, big deal!

What a pointless article. You want to talk about something as lame as superstitions and dirty underwear, how about all roads to win #34 in a row leading through Milwaukee. It was the Milwaukee Bucks who ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ 33 game winning streak. If the Heat manage to win 33 in a row, and I believe they will, can it be anything other than fate or destiny that to go for #34 the Heat will have to beat Milwaukee. I believe the Miami Heat will win 33 in a row. I also believe that on 04/09/2013, the Milwaukee Bucks will repeat history and halt yet another 33 game winning streak, just like they did 41 years ago. I’m a Suns fan so I’m not being bias to either team, this is just my prediction of what will happen.

Given their near losses to lower teams with depleted lineups, the Heat’s streak may just end soon. It’s not that I want it to happen, but I won’t hold my breath either. I just hope that they don’t lose to a really bad opponent. It would just be a very depressing conclusion otherwise.

Heat President Pat Riley was part of that historical lakers team, i think he knew how to build a team like what he had in the past, but wilt and lebron are outstanding players..without players like them, streaks like these seldom happens.

The heat apparently have a superstition. Many of their players and coaching staff have noticed that everytime the team practices hard and commits to excellence, victory usually follows. The reason the Heat don’t have superstitions or lucky charms is because they dont need any. They are a confident team who understand their abilities and strengths.

It’s good to see that the Heat don’t have silly superstitions to rule them like it does in baseball. They know they just need to be prepared & disciplined in not just the games but in practices as well.

The Bulls will beat the Miami Heat next Wednesday at United Center so if the Miami Heat win streak continues until then, this means the Bulls will be the team to stop the streak. Other than this, the Bulls are only looking to avenge the blowout loss in this match-up so they are really not concerned on whether the Heat streak ends before they travel to Chicago.

I remember the Lakers 33 game winning streak. Not wanting to break the streak, Wilt Chamberlain ended up sleeping with the same woman after 33 straight games. A big sacrifice for the big man that proved his love of winning.

How about tough opponents? Long road trips (over 7 games away from home)? What makes the Lakers’ streak and even the Houston streak more impressive is that they are in a tougher conference where there are more than three solid teams.

I think conference has nothing to do with the winning steak. If being on the east improved the chance of long streaks the Chicago bulls who dominated the NBA six straight years they would had at least the second longest streak. How about the Detroit piston of 2000’s they dominated the East conference and won a championship beating the Lakers 4-1.
After seeing OKC who made quick work of every playoff on the west and fall to the heat in five games and even the previous year when Dallas won a championship dallas made quick work of lakers and OKC before having to come from behind in every game against the heat to win a tough 4-2 and frankly Miami only lost to Dallas because the heat had no clue how to close games they would start running the clock down with as many as 4 minutes to play on the forth quarter.
I think the heat love the prime time and the play with more heart in hyped games and once you get past 10 games streak all your games became glorified by the media and the heat the superstars in Miami need some motivation to play hard, Its no accident that james number are of the charts whenever he plays lakers, knicks, OKC, Cleveland this games attract allots of media and mean less articles.
Right now 33 games sound nice and if you add the fact that the spurs are also playing for home court advantage. The spars might be the team to beat in the finals and having home court against the spurs its great.

Second longest win streak in NBA history is no mean feet especially in todays league, anyone can win on any given night. The Heat have definitely built a strong team compared to last season and before. Being a die hard Lakers supporter I would love to see the Heat fall short but at the same time would be the first to praise them on the effort if they reach 34 wins.

Tip: Lakers management take some lessons from the Heat especially on building a team not just around superstars.